Aberrant static and dynamic functional connectivity of auditory processing in migraine: A millisecond-scale magnetoencephalography study

This study aimed to characterize frequency- and latency-dependent network dysregulation in migraine using magnetoencephalography (MEG)-based static and dynamic functional connectivity analyses during auditory stimulation. Thirty interictal patients with migraine and 30 matched healthy controls underwent whole-head MEG recordings during a lateralized auditory task. Static and dynamic functional connectivity was estimated using corrected amplitude-envelope correlation across seven predefined frequency bands spanning 2–120 Hz. Group differences were examined using nonparametric permutation tests, with false discovery rate and Bonferroni correction applied to account for multiple comparisons. Static functional connectivity abnormalities were confined to high-frequency bands (low-gamma, 30–59 Hz; high-gamma, 60–89 Hz; and ripple, 90–120 Hz), showing enhanced frontal-limbic and cross-hemispheric connectivity in patients with migraine (Cohen's d = 1.05–1.37). Low-frequency bands showed no significant differences. Dynamic analyses revealed rapid, frequency- and hemisphere-dependent abnormalities, including prominent early gamma/ripple hyperconnectivity together with additional transient low-frequency alterations. Thus, migraine is characterized by high-frequency oscillatory imbalance during auditory processing, with both time-averaged (static) and transient (dynamic) network disruptions concentrated in gamma/ripple bands, consistent with impaired predictive coding and sensory hypersensitivity.